A SHOPLIFTER and drug addict who had "turned yellow" due to liver and kidney problems, asked to stay in custody when he appeared before a district judge at a combined Bury and Rochdale Magistrates' Courts session in Bury.

The court was told that Peter Callas, aged 47, of no fixed address, had gone through hard withdrawal symptoms, but had lost his jaundiced look and was convinced custody had been "the best thing to happen to him".

Callas had admitted stealing boxes of perfume from Superdrug in Bury which he hid under his jacket.

Mr Martin Pizzey, defending, said Callas, who he acknowledged had an awful record, had not taken the opportunity of community sentences in the past because he had not been candid about his problems. He now realised his health was seriously in jeopardy, and he wanted to get himself into a position where he could benefit from community support.

He was jailed for 12 weeks.